Beallara is an artificial hybrid of orchids between four genera in the subtribe Oncidiinae. Beallara is made from the genera Odontoglossum, consisting of about 300 species, Brassia, consisting of a little over 30 species, Miltonia, consisting of about 11 species of the ‘Brazilian Miltonias’ (intermediate to warm growing, distinguished from the cool growing ‘Miltoniopsis’) and Cochlioda, consisting of 6 species. The first hybrid of Beallara was created in 1970 by Beall and registered by Moir. Due to the varying percentages of the parent genera that make up Beallara and the gene expression in their progeny, Beallara varies in morphology and size. All exhibit sympodial growth habit.
Beallara breeding is typically done from sexual methods. Asexual propagation of Beallara is often done in aseptic tissue culture from apical or axillary shoots at a tissue culture laboratory.
The new cultivar was discovered within the progeny of a cross made in Hilo, Hi. on Dec. 4, 2001. The Inventor selected Beallara Big Shot ‘Hilo Sparkle’ as a single plant from a population of over 100 plants grown in Mountain View, Hi. Beallara Big Shot ‘Hilo Sparkle’ was re-flowered for evaluation and submitted by the Inventor to a commercial tissue culture laboratory in Bangkok, Thailand on Mar. 3, 2007 for asexual propagation through aseptic tissue culture technique.
Other seedlings from the same cross that was used to produce Beallara Big Shot ‘Hilo Sparkle’ have been commercially available from others. The characteristics of Beallara Big Shot ‘Hilo Sparkle’ are clearly distinguishable from the characteristics of its silblings. The sibling plants were sold without specific epithet to individuals and other nurseries. To the Inventor's knowledge, there are no other named clones of the cross. The inventor has reason to believe that Beallara Big Shot ‘Hilo Sparkle’ is superior to the other seedlings in flower size, shape and color as well as the spiking habit. Plants of the grex Beallara Big Shot are sold as plants of the grex without specific epithet.